Newly discovered spider represents new family, not just genus or species

From “Spider Version of Bigfoot Emerges from Caves in the Pacific Northwest” (Science Daily, August 14, 2012), we learn,

Whereas Bigfoot is probably just fiction, a huge, newly discovered spider is very real. Trogloraptor (or “cave robber”) is named for its cave home and spectacular, elongate claws. It is a spider so evolutionarily special that it represents not only a new genus and species, but also a new family (Trogloraptoridae). Even for the species-rich insects and arachnids, to discover a new, previously unknown family is an historic moment.

Trogloraptor hangs beneath rudimentary webs on cave ceilings. It is about four centimeters wide when its legs are extended — larger than the size of a half-dollar coin. Their extraordinary, raptorial claws suggest that they are fierce, specialized predators, but their prey and attack behavior remain unknown.

It’s significant that so large a spider could remain unknown to science till just this year. Another recent find was a large Middle Eastern spider. Oh, and an eyeless huntsman spider. It will be interesting to see how these finds fit into the conventional history of life – as opposed to being jimmied in – and how many more of them are out there.